Apparatus for hydrating lime.



GI ELLIS.

APPARATUS FOR HYDRATING LIME. APPLICATION FILED SEPT. e, 1905.

v WITNESSES:

75 WNW/4'.

I INVENTOR 5U N PATENTED FEB. 11, 1908.

cAnLE'roN stars, or new roads, N. Y.

APPARATUS FGRI HYDRATING LIME.

.Bpecification oiilietters Patent.

Patented Feb-11, 1908.

, Application filed eptemherfi. 1905 Serial No; 277.175.

To all whomjt may concern:

Hydrating Lime, of which the Be it known that I, CARLEToN ELLIS, a citizen of the United States, and resident of New York, in the county of New York and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in A aratus for f dllowing is a specification.

This invention relates to apparatus for slakiiig or hydrating crushed or comminutcd lime and has for its object the continuous production of hydrated or slaked lime, more especially in the form of a-dry', impalpable or finely divided powder.

The various ap aratus for hydrating lime, hitherto pro ose have, in general, been intermittent 0 operation. Some attempt has been made to dress or treat lump lime in a more or less continuous manner, but so far as I am advised, the dry slaking or hydration of lump lime in this way has not proved successful.

My invention does not concern itself with I the dressing or treatment of lum lime but, '25

as above stated, it has to do specifically with means for the handling and suitable hydration of lime in a finely divided, crushed, cracked or "comminuted condition; which means operate to bring about arapid, positive and uniform hydration almost simultaneously throughout the reacting massr I flhe present apparatus carries out the operation of hydration or partial hydration in a continuous, rapid and economical manner. lts op eration is precise and automatic. The product therefrom is uniformly hydrated to any degree desired. The method or procass of continuously slalr'ing or hydrating lime is set forth in the Patents Nos. 800,635 and 807,609, grantedto me on Oct. 3, 1905, and Dec. 19, 1905 respectively.

My apparatus comprises a conveyer or series of conveyers or mixers or agitators toether with an automatic comminuted lime feeding device and a means for the introduction of Water or steam. Referring nowto the accoih anying diagrammatic drawings, Figure l s ows a longitudinal section of the apparatus along tie line B B of Fig. 2. A cross sectionv of the machine is shown in Fig. 2 taken along the line AA of Fig. 1.

Like reference characters denote likeparts in the two figures. In the'drawings 1 and 2. represent chambers or troughs inwhich theoperations of;

mixing and hydrating are conducted. The trough 1 is shown superposed upon the trough 2 as thereby compactness of the'apparatus is secured, as also certain other advantages to be hereinafter described. Through the troughsland 2 extend the shafts '3 and 4 respectively'which are fitted with conveyor an mixing paddles shown at 5 and 6. The shafts are connected by the chain 7 and sprockets 12 and '13, the shaft ibeing actuated by the gears. 8 and 9 and the driving pulley ll mounted'on the shaft 10;

14 is a lime supply bin or hopper, at whose lower end is situated the feeding or measuring conveyor 15 inclosed by a cvlindrical tube. It will be evident that vhile lump lime cannot be fed in any definite and exact manner, comminuted lime, onthe contrary,

is not open to this objection and may be dischargec 1n 9. regular and predetermined man her into the upper trough. This 18 an advantage of no mean importance, as a uniform product is of the utmost importance from the commercial standpoint and only by having means which permit of the regular feeding and mixing of the lime with water necessary for partial or com )lete hydration can this result be secured. in opening, 16,. in this tube permits of the discharge of the quicklime into the up er trough 1. The

conveyer 15 is rotatec by the chain-and sprockets 17, 18 and 19. At 20, 21 is shown a pump for drawing Water train the supplypipe 22 and for forcing this water into the distributing-pipe 23, from which by means of jets or' sprayers 24 the water may be dis charged into the trough l in any desired manner. "Attached tothe pipe il'd'is a water tank 25 capable of maintaining a constant head of water. A stop cock 26'interp0sed in the pipe 23 between he water-tank and sprayerspermits of the use -of water from this'source in lieu of that from the pump, when so desired. The pump however is more positive and more automatic or selfregulating in its action. inasmuch as increase in speed of rotation of-the shaft 4 causes increase in the amount of Water supplied to the trough 1. r

27 is a valve or sliding gate by means of which the supply of lime may be interrupted when desire The stop-cocks in the waterp'ipe also. permit of shutting off thewater supply when thejmachine is in motion, if om any cause this is found necessary. By varying the length of'stroke of the pump through a variable adjustment in the diskcrank 20 an exact regulation of the watersupply is obtainable. The details of such an adjustment are not shown, being familiar to those skilled in the art. 1

28 is an opening for the 'discharge of the slalied lime into the passage 29. A dis charge or cleaning opening at 30 is fitted with a sliding gate 31. An outlet pipe 32 having a damper 33 serves for the escape of steam and dust.

My method of o eration of this apparatus is as follows: Quiclilime, either high calcium or dolomitic lime, in a finely. divided or crushed condition is placed in the hopper 14 and" the gate 27is opened. In case hydratioi f is'to be carried out through the agency of water from the pump, the valve 26 is closed. The machine being new set in operati'on by the rotation of the drive-pulley 11 the following action occurs: Lime from the hopper let is fed in. a continuous and uniform stream by the conveyor 15 into the trough 1 There it meets with a regulated amount of water from the distributors or sprayers 24. lly the rotation of theconveycr blades 5 the lime and water are uniformly mingled and.

a paste or putty results. This iscarried along the trough l and in its passage hydration will set in to a greater or less degree depending on the nature of the lime, the size of the lime particles, the tem erature of the water and of the trough. "he lime putty after,traversing the upper trough discharges through an opening in the end thereof-into the lower trough, where a more rapid agitation may he maintained. In this trough the hydration is carried on to the extent de sired andthe material is discharged through the opening 28 for subsequent treatment or immediate use as the case may be. For some limes the lower opening 30 may also e used as a discharge outlet. I of water required is dependent upon the degree of hydration ,desired. Five or six gallons or more of water are needed to comletely hydrate 100 pounds of a hi h calcium lime. For a dolomitic lime or. or incomlctely hydrated high calcium or dolomitic limes a much smaller amount is needed. In caseit is desired to have as few working parts to the machine as possible the pump 21 may be disconnected or discarded and the tank 25 used for sup lying the water. This will necessitate in the ap aratus as shown the regulation of the supp y of water'by the valve 26. When the operator has once familiarized himself with the appearance 'of.

the putty in the upper trough 1 the adjustment of the water supply is easily made. T'he sprayers are so situated as to permit of the gradual addition of the water when do sired. a lime possessing clayey or adhesive pro erties'whieh would. otherwise cling to t e The amount.

.lime being fedrata This is often necessary in the case of blades of the conveyer and clog the apparatus.

While it is not recommended that steam be used for the slaking of lime yet it is possible with this apparaf us to make use of steam as an auxiliary, introducing it into the dis-' tributing ipc 23 and also, if desired, into the trough 2 by anysuitable means (not here shown.)

Under certain circumstances screw or other forms of conveyors than those .herewith shown may housed in either the upper or lower troughs, as is evident. supplying the lime and water to-the mixing mechanism other than those described may also be used as will also be evident to those skilled in the art. Certain devices feeding intermittently but so rapidly that the material is discharged in a substantially uniform stream may be employed for measuring or feeding the finely divided lime. The use of superposed conveyor troughs while not wholly essential is however advantageous because of the increase in rapidity of the slaking in the upper trough due to the heating action of the slaking-mass in the lower Means for trough. lVith troughs otherwise arranged a slower rate of slaki g is experienced. a For certain limes hydration may be eiiected by the use of rotatable cylinders, one superposed on the other, and equipped, if desired,- with stationary or rotatable scrapers.

My apparatus permits of the manufacture of staked or'hydrated lime in an automatic and continuous manner with a product of great uniformity. By this apparatus hydrated lime may be made at a very-low cost for labor and power. With the low priceson hydrated lime nowprevailing this economy in its manufacture is of great commercial importance. I

IV hat I claim is: 1. In an apparatus for hydrating lime, the combination or" a chamber, a continuous lime-feeding mechanism constructed to feed comminuted lime thereto and means for con tinuously supplying an amount of water antomati'callyproportioned to the amount of point near the discharge. of said lime-feeding mechanism.

2. In an apparatus for hydrating lime, the

-' combination 'of a chamber, a continuous lime-feeding mechanism,.constructed to feed comminuted lime thereto and a pump having-operative connection with the'lime-feeding mechanism for feeding a proportionate amount of water at a point near the discharge of said lime-feeding mechanism.

3. In'an apparatus for hydrating lime, the combination of two or more conne eted passageways equipped with propellin devices by means (it which material may e caused to travel ong saidpassageways in succession,- means for con-tmuously and uniformly feeding finely divided lime and water to the the other end a, 'limefeedin srenie of oruslied lime and woter, and means for regulating the. proportions of lime and Water being fed to the epperetus.

5, in en apparatus for-hydrating lime, the combination of s hydration trough, a superimposed lnixingt'rough having an outlet near one end into the hydration trough, and near conveyor e011 nested to e lime hopper for elivering e supof crushed lime, e series of Water spruying deviees'loosted along the top of the mire trough, and means for regulating the flow of Weter therethrough;

l5. ls en apparatus for hydrating lime, the combinstion of e hydretion trough, ejsuper imposed mixing trough, having an outlet near one end into the hydration trough, and near the other end a lime-feeding conveyer connected to of lime hopper for delivering a supply of crushed lime, e series of water spraying devices located along the top of the mixing trough, meensfor regulating the flow all? of Water therethrough and eoirveyers located in both troughs, the conveyer in the hydrs u tion trough being geared to rotate faster then the conveyor in the mixing trough 7. In an spporatusfor hydrating lime, the combination of en iirfperforste xnixin chemher, means for introducing into said 0 mmber a substantially uniform stream 7 of commie; muted lime, means for introducing into the some chamber u regulated supply of Water, means for agitating and conveying these materials when in the mixing chamber, and

. means for externally lieoting the said mixing chamber.

8. In an apparatus for hydrstlng home, the combination of a chamber, meehsnism for feeding lime, thereto in regulated quantities and means for continuously supplying snsmount of Walter automatically proportioned to the amount of lime being fed at epoint near the discharge of said mechanism for feeding lime.

Signed at New York in the county of New York and State of New York this 27th day of June A. D. 1905 @ABLETON ELLIS. Witnesses: I i I I s. M ELLIS,

v WARREN E. Dixon. 

